Classic chicken noodle soup is made vegan by simply replacing the chicken with healthy, hearty potatoes. This soup still has that classic comfort flavor and feel without the excess sodium. A bowl of this will fill you up and satisfy you perfectly.
2 Exciting things today! First, The Vegan 8 became 1 year old this week, wow! I can’t believe it’s already been a year since I started The Vegan 8 blog and how much it’s grown. It’s been so exciting to connect with all of you and see you making my recipes in your kitchens. Thank you for all your support, emails, comments, feedback and engagement on all my posts. It really does make a difference to hear from you all and know that my blog is helping you, so a big thank you!!
CLASSIC VEGAN NOODLE SOUP
Today, I’m sharing a classic with you. I grew up eating chicken noodle soup…honestly, who didn’t? That warm bowl of comforting soup that was overly loaded with salt, was somehow so satisfying. Of course, looking at the can of ingredients now is pretty gross. I do remember how the chicken in the can was always really rubbery and I would end up spitting most of it out.
When I became an adult my mom started making a chicken noodle soup recipe that she picked up from a newspaper. It was creamy and slightly spicy and incredibly delicious. Come to find out, it was made using a cream of mushroom can of soup! What?! I thought it was homemade 100%. Lol. Regardless, it was really yummy and I always requested it.
This recipe came about for 2 reasons. One reader emailed me asking me to come up with a vegan “chicken” noodle soup recipe, saying that she would trust my recipe. I sure hope she likes it! Also, my hubby had been begging me to make one for the longest time. It was a gigantic winner with him. He says he could eat it daily. Mr. Picky liked it!
HOW DO YOU MAKE VEGAN CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP?
It really is just so simple, nothing extravagant. Well, you can have it all for 8 easy ingredients, no weird or fancy ingredients.
I replaced the chicken in traditional soup with red potatoes instead. The soup is very comforting and extremely filling. You can serve it alongside my Caesar salad and have a really satisfying, healthy dinner.
MORE VEGAN SOUP RECIPES
- Lazy Red Lentil Curry Soup
- Low-fat Smoky Broccoli Potato Soup
- Vegan Cauliflower Curry Soup
- Hearty Veggie Potato Stew
- Lazy Day Vegan Tomato Bisque
- Smoky Sweet Potato Black-eyed Pea Soup
Classic Vegan Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 4 large long carrots, sliced (you will need 1 1/2 cups sliced, 170 g)
- 4 large long celery stalks (you will need 1 1/2 cups sliced, 200g)
- 1 packed cup (160g) finely diced yellow onion
- 3 X-large garlic cloves, minced (about a tablespoon-15g)
- 3 small red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (you will need 2 1/2 cups, 370g)
- 6-7 cups water (or broth, see update under NOTES)
- 2 vegan bouillon cubes (see update under NOTES for alternate version!)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (depending on your bouillon cube, this may need adjustment)
- Optional 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 cups (170g, 6 oz) gluten-free brown rice spiral noodles
UPDATE
- I have recently made this without the bouillon cubes since so many have asked. If you want to skip the bouillon cube version, then make it as written above, but with obviously omitting the bouillon cubes and adding additionally the following to what is ALREADY written above: Replace the water with 6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, add 1-2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce (I buy a vegan version from Whole Foods, to taste), add 1/2 teaspoon more salt (so 1 1/2 teaspoons total, this can vary due to your broth as well), add 2 1/2 teaspoons onion powder, add 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder, add 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning spice blend (premade blend from store). Since bouillon cubes add a lot of flavor, this is why you will need to add all of these spices if you omit it. Taste after everything is cooked and add any more seasonings if desired.
Instructions
- Prepare all of your veggies, spices and set aside.
- Add 6 cups of the water (or broth if using the updated version below) to a large pot and bring to a boil, add the bouillon cubes (or all the additional spices listed under the updated version below in place using the bouillon cubes), thyme, salt, nutritional yeast and whisk to dissolve.
- Immediately add all of the veggies (carrots, celery, onion, garlic and potatoes). You are adding all of the ingredients except the pasta. Stir well and bring back to a boil. Once boiling, immediately turn to the lowest heat, cover and simmer around 10 minutes until the carrots and potatoes are becoming tender.
- Add the pasta and bring back to a boil. Once boiling, leave the lid off and turn the heat to medium-high and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender, but still firm. If using gluten-free pasta, it will cook much faster, so keep an eye. Turn off the heat. With the above ingredients, it didn't need any more salt for us, but feel free to taste and add any extra. If you want it more brothy, add the remaining broth. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and black pepper, if desired. I love freshly ground black pepper on my soup.
THIS SOUP IS DELICIOUS!!!! We are vegan and it’s so hard to find a soup to replace chicken noodle in the winter when everyone gets sick. WE ALL LOVE IT!!! Added lots of nutritional yeast and used “better than bouillon” and it’s delicious!!! Thank you for sharing your recipe! Will be making it for years to come! 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that Stephanie! Thank you so much for making it and leaving such an awesome review!
I’ve made this soup several times and it is fantastic. One question, we’re snowed in today and I have everything except the rice noodles. Will it work with whole wheat pasta? Should I cook it separately? Thanks!
Thank you for this recipe!! I’m sick for the 1st time since going vegan 4 months ago and didn’t have energy for complicated soup recipe. This is amazingmy delicious, even my omni husband and kids loved It! Definitely adding my rotation!!! I also love that most ingredients are in pantry already. 😀
With a sick girlfriend, this soup was the perfect thing to see her back on her feet. I’m a new fan to this site.
This is the second time I’ve made this soup, it’s so yummy and easy to make. I add a can of drained, rinsed chickpeas, as well, for a little added protein. Definite comfort food! 🙂
I’m so glad to hear how much you enjoy the soup Julie!!
I made your vegan noodle soup for lunch today and it was perfect for this gray chilly Michigan day. I could not find vegan bouillon so I used the update and it was wonderful. Thank you!!
Wonderful, so glad you enjoyed it Angie!
I am 14 and made this awesome soup successfully. My dad was making a traditional acadian soup but it had chicken, so I made my own by adjusting this recipe to match the acadian frico which includes dumplings. Me and my mom loved very much!
Oh this is so wonderful to hear Isabelle! You are so amazing and awesome to make this soup!!
Just wanted to let you know this is now a staple in my house. When I became vegan one of the things I missed was homemade chicken noodle soup. So glad I tried this recipe! Now, when it’s cold, or when I’m not feeling well, all I want is this soup! It is healthy, comforting, and freezes well (without the noodles). I always have a batch in the freezer. Thanks so much for a great recipe!
So awesome to hear that Lynne, thank you for the review!
I make/request this every time I’m sick, or just looking for simple soup. Best recipe!!
So glad you love it, thank you Gina!
This soup has TRULY become our go-to! I make this for my fiancé all the time. He looks forward to colder weather because it means he gets this soup! One question though, what does the nutritional yeast add to it? I’ve literally overlooked that it is an ingredient in this soup for 2 straight winters and I’m afraid to add it because it’s so good already! 😅
That is so awesome to hear Jessica!! To be honest, I actually don’t use the yeast anymore since my husband cannot have it (huge gout trigger) and he loves this soup so much. I learned awhile back how bad it triggers gout, so I just leave it out now. Although, I personally find it more flavorful with it, if you love it as is, then feel free to skip it! It just aids in depth of flavor and a salty bite, which classic chicken soups have so much.
my husband came home complaining of an upset stomach. I made this soup and he’s feeling better.
So glad the soup made him feel better!
Another 5 star hit from Brandy! This soup is outstanding, brings back memories of childhood chicken noodle soup. EVERYONE loved it and I have printed and given out at least 5 copies of this recipe, it’s delish! The first batch I made, I did not follow directions and I used regular white pasta – oh man, it doubled in size turning my soup into a pot of pasta with no broth, so be sure to use the gluten free brown rice pasta!!! Thanks again Brandy for your awesome culinary skills!
One of my favourite recipes ever! This is so so tasty and simply to make. I cannot believe I haven’t already written a review about it! Absolutely amazing. It’s gotten to the point where I’m cooking this once a week at least! Yay thank you so much
The only thing I do to change it is adding more water than stated, but that is just a personal preference.
SO happy to hear that Ellen!
I loved it. I make a homemade bouillon I found on Pinterest so that I can control how much sodium goes into any dish I put it in. I was worried I wouldn’t get enough flavor. I make and freeze my own vege broth but I didn’t have 6 cups. The only modification I made was I went ahead an added Worcester sauce like you recommend if using broth and not bouillon cubes. I also added an extra tablespoon of nutritional yeast. Probably didn’t need to do all that but I wasn’t sure of my homemade bouillon. It came out great. Thank you for another low-fat winner
Loved this recipe! I added some garbanzo beans that I had leftover from making hummus and a super finely chopped bunch of lacinato kale. Delicious!!! Thank you!
So happy to hear that Jen! Thank you for the review!
This recipe is bomb! So yummy and flavorful. I used the bouillon cubes. The only thing I changed was I used 1/4 of the amount of pasta because I like my noodle soup more brothy and I have found that pasta sucks it all up!
So happy to hear you loved it!
delicious! A new family favorite for us. Hard to fine recipes we all like with a 8, 6, and 4 year old!
This was delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it!!
This recipes is seriously amazing! Simple, whole food, so flavorful! Thank you so much!
This is incredible! Super easy to make and very versatile. I used barley instead of noodles and added some spinach at the end and it was delicious.
Wonderful Mari!
This recipe was AMAZING! It’s exactly the classic soup you remember from growing up, just, dare I say, better! At first I wasn’t sure about the potatoes as a substitute for chicken but it was lovely. Just the right ingredient to make the soup feel as though there wasn’t anything “missing”. My family loved it. Thank you for another oil free vegan keeper. 🙂
Aww so glad to hear this, thank you Rachel for the review!